--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What did you think, that joy / was some…" description: "\"What did you think, that joy / was some slight thing?\" — Mark Doty" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/mark-doty-11557_joy_what-did-you-think-that-joy-was-some-sli_1918985.jpg" --- # What did you think, that joy / was some slight thing? ![“What did you think, that joy / was some slight thing?” quote by Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/mark-doty-11557_joy_what-did-you-think-that-joy-was-some-sli_1918985.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/mark-doty-11557_joy_what-did-you-think-that-joy-was-some-sli_1918985.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/mark-doty-11557_joy_what-did-you-think-that-joy-was-some-sli_1918985.jpg) > “What did you think, that joy / was some slight thing?” [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poet challenges the notion that joy is trivial, urging deeper appreciation of its significance **In simple terms:** Joy is not trivial Key Takeaway Reevaluate the depth of joy Themes joy perception philosophy emotion Mood reflective inspirational Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - Therapeutic writing - mindful meditation - artistic expression workshops Key Concepts Phenomenology existential reflection emotional depth Questions to Reflect On - How can we recognize and honor profound joy? - What practices help sustain a sense of joy? A Different Perspective Joy can be fleeting, making the claim seem overstated ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Did Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/did-think/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Joy Slight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy-slight-2935697/) [Slight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slight/) [Slight Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slight-thing-2935698/) [Think Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-joy-453226/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [To revive a man is no slight thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nachman-of-breslov/to-revive-a-man-is-no-slight-thing/) [Nachman of Breslov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nachman-of-breslov/) > [“How slight a thing will disturb the equanimity of our frail minds!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/how-slight-a-thing-will-disturb-the-equanimity-of-our-frail-minds/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I'm sure there was some part of his soul was intrinsically happy, but he probably had to go through some permutations to really get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-grant/i-m-sure-there-was-some-part-of-his-soul-was-intrinsically-happy-but/) [Jennifer Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-grant/) > [Do not think only of your own joy, but vow to save all beings from suffering. This is sharing in its highest form and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/do-not-think-only-of-your-own-joy-but-vow-to-save-all-beings-from/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“And you know the darkness beyond despair, just as intimately as you know the soaring heights. Because in this and all universes, there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/and-you-know-the-darkness-beyond-despair-just-as-intimately-as-you/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [You really think joy is easier to come by than pain? What have you had more of?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/you-really-think-joy-is-easier-to-come-by-than-pain-what-have-you-had/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [“What I'm feeling, I think, is joy. And it's been some time since I've felt that blinkered rush of happiness, This might be one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-silvey/what-i-m-feeling-i-think-is-joy-and-it-s-been-some-time-since-i-ve/) [Craig Silvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-silvey/) > [If we think we will have joy only by praying and singing psalms, we will be disillusioned. But if we fill our lives with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/if-we-think-we-will-have-joy-only-by-praying-and-singing-psalms-we-2/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [“But you're wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from human relationships. God's placed it all around us. It's in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/into-the-wild/but-you-re-wrong-if-you-think-that-the-joy-of-life-comes-principally/) [Into The Wild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/into-the-wild/) > [“I think Joy sleeps in strange places. We're always looking for her in shiny, happy, fun times, assuming that Joy prefers her twin brother,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmond-manning/i-think-joy-sleeps-in-strange-places-we-re-always-looking-for-her-in/) [Edmond Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmond-manning/) > [If we think we will have joy only by praying and singing psalms, we will be disillusioned. But if we fill our lives with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/if-we-think-we-will-have-joy-only-by-praying-and-singing-psalms-we/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [I think joy is just as instructive as pain, and I like it better. I never meant to suffer any more than I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/i-think-joy-is-just-as-instructive-as-pain-and-i-like-it-better-i/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [Think joy, talk joy, practice joy, share joy, saturate your mind with joy, and you will have the time of your life today and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/think-joy-talk-joy-practice-joy-share-joy-saturate-your-mind-with-joy/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [You are wrong if you think Joy emanates only or principally from human relationships. God has placed it all around us. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/you-are-wrong-if-you-think-joy-emanates-only-or-principally-from/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [ “In The Magical Art of Tidying up by Kon Mari\[viii\], the author urges people to touch each possession they own and ask the question,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sterling-jaquith/in-the-magical-art-of-tidying-up-by-kon-mari-viii-the-author-urges/) [Sterling Jaquith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sterling-jaquith/) ## More by Mark Doty > [One ambition of poetry, certainly, is to create a reverberant silence in its wake, one that means more or differently than the silence that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/one-ambition-of-poetry-certainly-is-to-create-a-reverberant-silence/) [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) > [... the attempt to render visual intricacy makes words feel unwieldy, like sacks of meaning that must be lugged into place, dragged here and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/the-attempt-to-render-visual-intricacy-makes-words-feel-unwieldy-like/) [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) > [“And now, a heap of roses beside the sea, white rugosa beside the foaming hem of shore: brave, waxen candles… And we talk as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/and-now-a-heap-of-roses-beside-the-sea-white-rugosa-beside-the/) [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) > [“Doesn’t rain make a memory more intimate?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/doesn-t-rain-make-a-memory-more-intimate/) [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) > [“I used to walk out, at night, to the breakwater which divides the end of the harbor form the broad moor of the salt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/i-used-to-walk-out-at-night-to-the-breakwater-which-divides-the-end/) [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) > [“And, I think, this greening does thaw at the edges, at least, of my own cold season. Joy sneaks in: listening to music, riding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/and-i-think-this-greening-does-thaw-at-the-edges-at-least-of-my-own/) [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) > [In Judith Barrington's striking collection, Horses and the Human Soul, human emotions come ushered and accompanied by animal companions, especially the horses this speaker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/in-judith-barrington-s-striking-collection-horses-and-the-human-soul/) [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) > [Poetry is ... the physical enactment of a process of knowing by means of language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/poetry-is-the-physical-enactment-of-a-process-of-knowing-by-means-of/) [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) > [We love disasters that have nothing to do with us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/we-love-disasters-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-us/) [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) > [“Does the poem reside in experience or in self-consciousness about experience?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/does-the-poem-reside-in-experience-or-in-self-consciousness-about/) [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) > ['Everything beautiful occurs when the body / is suspended,' Helena Mesa quotes a performance artist who hangs his own pierced body in the air.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/everything-beautiful-occurs-when-the-body-is-suspended-helena-mesa/) [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) > [Intimacy, says the phenomenologist Gaston Bachelard, is the highest value. I resist this statement at first. What about artistic achievement, or moral courage, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/intimacy-says-the-phenomenologist-gaston-bachelard-is-the-highest/) [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) > [It's unsettling, to lose the safety of the familiar, even when what's disrupted is an ordinary routine. When I began this poem, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/it-s-unsettling-to-lose-the-safety-of-the-familiar-even-when-what-s/) [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) > [Desire can make anything into a god.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/desire-can-make-anything-into-a-god/) [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) > [“In the museums we used to visit on family vacations when I was a kid, I used to love those rooms which displayed collections…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/in-the-museums-we-used-to-visit-on-family-vacations-when-i-was-a-kid/) [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) [Explore all 59 Mark Doty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) ## More Joy quotes > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [“When you finally realize your gifts and talents, joy and satisfaction come as you walk in your purpose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanya-richards-ross/when-you-finally-realize-your-gifts-and-talents-joy-and-satisfaction/) [Sanya Richards-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanya-richards-ross/) > [When I first started, my message was about joy, but I didn't really have the vocabulary and life experience to fully deliver it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/when-i-first-started-my-message-was-about-joy-but-i-didn-t-really/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Of everything I have done, 'The Archers' always gets the most excitement; there's a sort of uncontrollable joy from fans of the program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/of-everything-i-have-done-the-archers-always-gets-the-most-excitement/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [Safin, in his way, is very talented. It is a joy to watch them play; it is tennis of a very high quality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-krajicek/safin-in-his-way-is-very-talented-it-is-a-joy-to-watch-them-play-it/) [Richard Krajicek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-krajicek/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) [Daniel K Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-k-judd/) > [“Start the daily practice of joyful living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/start-the-daily-practice-of-joyful-living/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have touched with a sense of art some people-they felt the love and the life. Can you offer me anything to compare to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cassatt/i-have-touched-with-a-sense-of-art-some-people-they-felt-the-love-and/) [Mary Cassatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cassatt/) > [“Reverend Veronica Goines sums this up as, “Peace is joy at rest, and joy is peace on its feet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/reverend-veronica-goines-sums-this-up-as-peace-is-joy-at-rest-and-joy/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Be in a state of gratitude for everything that shows up in your life. Be thankful for the storms as well as the smooth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/be-in-a-state-of-gratitude-for-everything-that-shows-up-in-your-life/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Spiritually, life is a festival, a celebration. Joy is of the essence of life;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnivesh/spiritually-life-is-a-festival-a-celebration-joy-is-of-the-essence-of/) [Agnivesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnivesh/) [Browse all 15,003 Joy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What did you think, that joy / was some slight thing?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Doty" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/what-did-you-think-that-joy-was-some-slight-thing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Joy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/what-did-you-think-that-joy-was-some-slight-thing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/mark-doty-11557_joy_what-did-you-think-that-joy-was-some-sli_1918985.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/mark-doty-11557_joy_what-did-you-think-that-joy-was-some-sli_1918985.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/mark-doty-11557_joy_what-did-you-think-that-joy-was-some-sli_1918985.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What did you think, that joy / was some slight thing?” — Mark Doty", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mark Doty", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What did you think, that joy...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/what-did-you-think-that-joy-was-some-slight-thing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/what-did-you-think-that-joy-was-some-slight-thing/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```